Volume 12, Issue 1,
Winter 2008
The SoL Flash is published quarterly to
highlight important developments in the field of organizational learning
and to offer timely updates on SoL community news and events. Submit
updates and articles for inclusion in the next issue of the SoL Flash to
flash@solonline.org
Features
Reminder: Act Today! Early registration for the 3rd SoL Global
Forum ends Thursday, January 31st
Upcoming Founding SoL Courses and Events
-- Foundations for Leadership
Reflections: The SoL Journal
-- Reflections Volume 8 Issue 4
Sustainability News
-- SoL Sustainability Consortium
-- SoL European Sustainability Group (ESG)
Other Local SoL Community Updates and Events
-- KINSoL
-- SoL UK
SoL Member Opportunities
-- Corrections: SoL Applied Learning Process - Community of
Practice New Date, Time, and Dial-in Info
-- SoL Special Offers Webpage
SoL Business
-- Welcome New Consultant and Research Members
-- SoL Council Elections
-- Upcoming SoL Council Meetings
-- SoL Employment Opportunities
SoL Community Events
-- Addition: Spirit in Leadership: Exploring Resilience and
Grace - Dialogue and Retreat
-- Shambhala Institute in Ontario: Authentic Leadership in
Action
-- Authentic Leadership in Action Summer Institute 2008
-- System Dynamics Society 2008 Conference
-- 2008 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management
SoL Community News
-- Addition: Call for Proposals: 2008 Annual Pegasus Conference: Synergy
in Action: Gathering Momentum for Meaningful Performance - Submission Deadline is February 8th
-- Addition: Research Update: Companies that Mimic Life Produce Outstanding Financial Performance
-- SoL consultant member Anika Savage chosen as new president of
the Association for Strategic Planning - Boston Chapter
-- International Journal of Learning and Change (IJLC) Call For
Papers: Special Issue on "Flexible Learning Organisations"
-- SoL Consultant Member Karen Proctor publishes new
work
-- LOPN, Learning Organisation Practitioners' Network,
Singapore
-- Leanness Web Site Features "Corporate Culture and
Profitability in America"
-- The Elements of Persuasion nominated as a best business
book of 2007
-- Job Opening at The Garrison Institute: Director,
Transformative Ecology Program Initiative
-- MOPAN International Conference
-- Authentic Leadership Institute: True North Leadership
Program and True North Personal Guide available Spring
2008
-- In2:InThinking Network 2008 Forum
-- Joe Raelin, Sol Research Member, article download
available
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Features
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Reminder: Act Today! Early registration for the 3rd SoL
Global Forum ends Thursday, January 31st
3rd SoL Global
Forum
April 13-17, 2008
Muscat, Oman
SoL members from
over 30 countries have already registered! Join us on the sunny beaches
of exotic Muscat, Oman for "Bridging the Gulf: Learning Across
Organization, Sectors and Cultures". We have an exciting Forum planned
with outstanding plenary speakers such as Muhammed Yunus, Adam Kahane,
Mary Catherine Bateson, and many SoL stalwarts including Arie de Geus
and Peter Senge. This year we are experimenting with a self-organizing
learning space that we are calling a Learning Souq. Concurrent sessions
will offer opportunities for participants to explore specific topics,
experience new tools in the field, and learn from the experiences of
colleagues through the collaborative learning that is core to the Forum
and SoL. Participants from over 25 countries are registered and you want
to be a part of this global community event. Registration is open while
space is available at
www.solonline.org/events/GlobalForum2008Public
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Upcoming Founding SoL Courses and Events
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Foundations for Leadership
March 2008
Boston, MA,
United States
Facilitated by Peter Senge and Robert Hanig
Special nonprofit and team rates available
This program goes deeply into the domains of personal
mastery, collaborative inquiry, and the systems perspective as key
competencies for sustaining profound change. Through the interplay of
personal and interpersonal work, participants will recognize that
leadership concerns the capacity of a human community to shape its
destiny and to bring forth realities aligned with people's deepest
aspirations. From senior executives to those with no formal authority,
leaders at every organizational level will gain deeper insights into
leadership as a collective phenomenon. Teams are encouraged to
participate and explore together what it takes to create an environment
in which leadership is a shared responsibility, naturally embedded in
the fabric of an organization or community. This program was the origin
of Peter Senge's book The Fifth Discipline.
For more information about this program, contact SoL's
Program Coordinator at +1-617-300-9560 or programs@solonline.org
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Reflections: The SoL Journal
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.
Reflections Volume 8 Issue 4 and the yearly
compilation of all issues will be released in the first quarter of
2008. .........................................................
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Sustainability News
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.
SoL Sustainability
Consortium
The SoL Sustaniability Consortium is developing
a Web site (www.thecarboncommons.org): A Learning Resource for
Carbon Reduction. The "Carbon Reduction Workgroup" is open to companies
who want to engage in monthly phone calls that review their status in
the carbon reduction action-learning cycle.
The fall newsletter, available at www.solsustainability.org/newsletters.html, offers
articles, news, and bits of information and learning. We lead this month
with an article on the Forum in Atlanta, an interview with Gregor
Barnum, and much more.
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SoL European Sustainability
Group
February 18 - 19, 2008
will be SoL ESG's next large gathering in Paris. We co-host
the event with TNS to look at how to apply the TNS framework to your
organization. We'll also consider ecological limits and how
organizational learning can address this issue. Contact Pamela Paquin for information
about attending.
ESG's 3rd annual Sustainability and
Innovation event in Denmark this summer focused on various
projects going on in Scandinavia, including The Alexandra Institute
(Home of the Future; Multiple Stakeholder Co-Creation) and sustainable
housing at Lund University's International Industrial Institute for
Environmental Economics. During the gathering, members merged
role-playing around sustainable communities with the flow game and peer
coaching to clarify our personal visions and collective capacities.
Sessions on sustainable production and stakeholder engagement used cafe
and open space to deepen our collective understanding around best
practices and key challenges. Danish micro-brew beer-tasting, impromptu
Scottish Highland Reel, and the master banjo playing of Benjamin
Hornblow brought a sense of playfulness and personal connection which we
hope to continue next summer in Scotland! Fifteen
members, including several SoL Jeans and Pioneers of Change, met in
London on September 19, 2007 to discuss sustainable
communities. Learninghouse, an excellent venue for creative
interaction, hosted the event. (We recommend it highly to anyone
seeking a hosting space London!) The evening offered a glimpse into an
imaginary sustainable future that was "backcast" to the present, where
we could imagine the steps needed to get to our desired future.
Mireille Albert of SoL Canada and the BTH
Strategic Sustainable Leadership Programme will assist us in speeding
up our technology usage on the SoL Web site. She also assists TNS in
France and hosts "Finding Your Inner Clown" workshops focused on
laughter therapy. Thanks, Mireille!
Current SoL ESG
Projects
Organic Food: Feeding the World
Increase of
Top Soil and Forested Land in Africa and Asia
Sustainable
Production in Danish Communities/Industry
Bringing Sustainability
through Serving Customer Needs
Sustainable Housing/Communities in
Denmark, Sweden, West Africa, and Lebanon
Sustainable Learning in
Primary and University Education
Nordic Council of Ministries 2008
Climate Conference
Leaders for Nature Learning Journeys, Holland
Pioneers of Change Summer School, Brazil (December 2007)
YES - Youth
Encounter for Sustainability
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Other
Local SoL Community Updates and Events
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KINSoL (Knowledge and
Innovation Network of SoL)
The Nature of Collaboration and Performance in Social
Systems
January 15-18, 2008
Tucson, AZ, United States
We invite you to our next KINSoL retreat to be
held at the Rex Ranch Resort. (www.rexranch.com) The theme is "The Nature of
Collaboration and Performance in Social Systems." Find more information
at www.
solonline.org/ announcements/item?item_id=13646147. To maximize
interaction and understanding, attendance is limited to 20 people. If
you're interested, let us know early! Questions? Contact Nick Zeniuk at
nzeniuk2@aol.com
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SoL UK - International
Conference on Decision-Making
16-17 April 2008
Hong
Kong Theatre, London School of Economics
Join
this exciting 2-day international conference on Improving
Decision-Making Processes in Institutions with key-note speakers to be
advised. Further details will be posted on our Web site, www.sol-uk.org
To register for any SOL-UK event or for further
information about SOL-UK events or membership, visit our Web site www.sol-uk.org or email
annward@sol-uk.org.
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SoL
Member Opportunities
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SoL Applied Learning Process
- Community of Practice UPDATE
PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE, TIME
AND DIAL IN NUMBER!
Join the re-formed ALP Community of Practice.
Interested SoL members meet the second Wednesday of each month at
10:00am Eastern Time. The NEW call-in number is 517-417-5000 and the
passcode is 579922. (Through (www.freeconference.com) Hosted by
Jon Vogen and Frank Smith, the ALP COP is intended to be a forum to
explore and evolve the application of the ALP through retrospective
dialogue and discussion of current work in progress. Over the
past few years, the ALP Committee discovered essential elements about
the process. Although project work is often the field of practice for
ALP, the larger goal is to explore core questions with the intention of
creating systemic change through organizational learning. Discovering
patterns across projects can provide this systemic insight. Tangible
evidence of the ALP is the creation of new knowledge, methods, or tools
which are documented and shared throughout the organization.
The monthly meeting of the ALP Community of Practice looks at work that
has been completed and serves as a forum for members of the SoL
community to bring their current activities for discussion, feedback, or
help. Please feel welcomed to join us! Our next meeting is
Wednesday, February 13 at 10:00am Eastern Time.
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Special Offers for
SoL Members
Don't miss out! Make sure to check our
Special Offers for SoL Members page for the latest offers
and discounts. As a member of SoL, you are entitled to special offers
and discounts on select event registration fees, magazine subscriptions,
and more. Do you have a special offer for members
of SoL? Contact us at info@solonline.org.
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SoL
Business
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Welcome New SoL Consultant and
Research Members
SoL's Council of Trustees accepted the
following individuals as research and consultant members at the meetings
in September and November of 2007. Congratulations -- and welcome to
SoL!
New Organizational Member, September 2007
* CIGNA, Bloomfield Hills, Connecticut USA
An insurance company
based in the northeastern United States for more than 125 years, CIGNA
provides global health, life, and pension products. SoL colleagues at
CIGNA are concentrating on leadership and change initiatives in the
health sectors. New Consultant Member,
September 2007
* Mark Spain, Kaleen, Australia New Consultant Members, November 2007
*
Sarah Babb, Johannesburg, South Africa
* Mary Pierce Brosmer,
Cincinnati, OH USA
* Bipul Kumar Das, Assam, India
* Roberto
DeBacco, Lugano, Switzerland
* Margaret (Meg) Hargreaves,
Cambridge, MA USA
* Ronald Jue, Fullerton, CA USA
* Lorri
Lizza, Chatham, NJ USA
* Agadh Mehdi, Assam, India
* William
(Bill) Newman, Amesbury, MA USA
* Charles Redinger, Harvard, MA
USA
New Research Member, November
2007
* Ruth Deakin Crick, Bristol, England
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SoL Council
Elections
NEWLY ELECTED
FOUNDING SoL COUNCIL MEMBERS
We are pleased to announce the
election of the following members to the Founding SoL Council of
Trustees for the 2007 - 2009 Council term:
CORPORATE
Alfred Hanner, Saudi Aramco
Jeremy
Seligman, Ford Motor Company
CONSULTANTS
David Flanigan,
Bradenton, FL USA
Fred Simon, Bloomfield Hills, MI USA
Cynthia
Way, Hyattsville, MD USA
RESEARCH
John Ehrenfeld,
Lexington, MA USA
Becky Smith, Bozeman, MT USA THANK YOU
We wish to acknowledge and
deeply thank Phil Mirvis, Research Candidate; Madeline Nold, Consultant
Candidate; and Iva Wilson, Consultant Candidate. While not elected this
year, each put their highest intention and effort into candidacy. They
all have been deeply involved in many ways and for a number of years
with SoL, including:
OLC Board
Member and First President of SoL (Iva)
Council Member 2005
- 2007 (Phil, Madeline)
Service on Organizational Member
Subcommittee (Iva)
Participation/Service to Consulting
Convergence and Coaching Community of Practice (Iva,
Madeline)
Service On ALP and Research Committees
(Madeline)
Service on Nominating Committee (Madeline,
Phil)
Publications in Reflections (Phil)
We are grateful for their significant
contributions to date and anticipate that each will continue to
contribute to the ongoing development and evolution of SoL in the ways
that best suit and call to them. Thank you again, Iva, Madeline, and
Phil! CONTINUING COUNCIL
MEMBERS
The following Council members continue their terms
through the 2008 Council election.
CORPORATE
Shawn Patterson, DTE, Detroit, MI USA
Jim Tebbe, Royal Dutch Shell, Houston, TX USA
RESEARCH
Hilary Bradbury, Los Angeles, CA USA
Carol Gorelick, New York, NY
USA
Christoph Mandl, Vienna, Austria
CONSULTANT
Deborah Reidy, Holyoke, MA USA
Tony Rollins, Tucson, AZ USA
Sherry Immediato continues on the
Council in her role as President, a non-elected position, as specified
by the SoL Constitution.
Peter Senge continues on the Council in
his role as Founding Chair, a permanent, non-voting position. ELECTION STATISTICS
In order to
constitute a quorum and ratify an election, SoL's Constitution requires
that at least two-thirds (66.66%) of the voting members place their
votes, and that at least fifty percent of all possible votes be placed.
Voting members include all Research and Consultant members of Founding
SoL and a designated representative from each Corporate member of
Founding SoL. Member votes are weighted on number of years of
membership, with a maximum of 15 for Corporate members (5 for every year
of membership) and 3 for Consultant and Research members (1 for every
year of membership). In the 2007 election: - 70% (134 out of 191) of all eligible members voted,
exceeding the minimum quorum requirement this year of two-thirds
(66.66%) or 127 voters.
- 76% (424 out of 560) of all possible
votes were placed, exceeding the minimum requirement of fifty percent or
280 weighted votes this year.
- 11 of 11 Corporate members
placed their votes = 100%
- 36 of 48 Research members placed
their votes = 75%
- 87 of 132 Consultant members placed their
votes = 66%
We thank all those who
participated in creating a successful election! The 2007 SoL Council Nominating
Committee
Sheila McGarey, SoL Staff
Phil Mirvis,
Research and Council Member
Madeline Nold, Consultant and Council
Member
Jim Tebbe, Organizational and Council Member
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Upcoming SoL Council
Meetings
The first SoL Council meeting of 2008 will
take place via teleconference on February 4. .........................................................
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SoL Employment
Opportunities
The SoL staff is a dedicated team of
individuals intent on making the SoL vision a reality. We work hard to
provide the SoL community with the tools and resources it needs to be
successful. The following positions are available
in our Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA office:
* Programs and
Logistics Coordinator
* Marketing Coordinator
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SoL
Community Programs and Events
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.
Addition:
Spirit in Leadership: Exploring Resilience and Grace - Dialogue and
Retreat
Thursday evening - Sunday afternoon, April 24 - 27, 2008
(arrive on Thursday by 7:30pm and depart on Sunday at 2:00pm)
An Invitation . . .
Resilience, our ability to stay in the game, to triumph over
adversity and overcome challenges, seems to have become a yardstick by
which we measure leadership capability. We look for and admire it in our
sports heroes and teams. Presidential candidates from both parties tout
their "comebacks" as an ultimate demonstration of their leadership
ability. At the same time, as leaders in our organizations, we
continually face complex challenges brought about by globalization and
the increasing interdependence of the world. We also face the
challenges of day-to-day life including balancing the demands of the
various contexts we live in as well as the demands of the daily barrage
of email and voicemail messages. It appears that a continual state of
resilience is what is called for today. But where does the capacity for
resilience come from? Is there a connection between resilience and
grace in leadership; that is, how can we operate with grace in what we
do on a day-to-day level and connect with the sources of grace in our
lives and within ourselves? How do we integrate these capacities into
our practice of leadership? These important but rarely discussed topics
will be the focus of this year`s retreat and dialogue.
Additional information will be forthcoming. To register, and to
forward this invitation to your colleagues, please see the information
below. About the Spirit in Leadership Retreat Series The Visions of A
Better World Foundation and the Brahma Kumaris initiated this retreat
series in 2002. This year we are pleased to add an additional sponsor -
the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL). In the six prior
retreats, we have explored the topics of love, joy, courage, generosity
and abundance, compassion, and contentment in the realm of leadership
and, in 2008, we will explore the theme of Resilience and Grace in
Leadership. Each year, Spirit in Leadership draws together distinguished
leaders from a variety of professions and organizations. Using the
medium of personal storytelling, conversations are generated that enrich
our understanding of leadership by reflecting on the richness of our
personal experiences and exploring the responsibilities of being a
leader. During the retreat, we will have the opportunity to dialogue and
tell stories in both plenary and small groups as we reflect together to
deepen our understanding of how our individual potential as leaders can
flourish. Spending some individual time in silence will help us to
deepen the experience.
Sponsors
The Visions of A Better World Foundation was
formed in 1994 with the intention of continuing a process of research,
dialogue, and reflection that was started through a global United
Nations affiliated initiative. The purpose of the foundation is to
ignite the spirit of all people to conceive and make real their visions
of a better world. The Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) is a
non-profit, member governed organization chaired by Peter Senge,
dedicated to building knowledge about fundamental institutional change
through integrating research, capacity building, and the practical
application of organizational learning theory and methods. SoL evolved
from the Center for Organizational Learning at MIT. The work of
the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization is inspired by the
vision of a world in which every individual has developed to his or her
own full potential. The Brahma Kumaris offer a wide range of educational
programs, and a variety of personal development workshops that support
positive change. (www.bkwsu.org)
Venue
This gathering
will be held at Peace Village Learning & Retreat Center
(www.peace-village.org), a beautiful spiritual setting in the mountains
of upstate New York, 21/2 hours from New York City, 3 1/2 hours from
Boston, 1 hour southwest of Albany. For directions to Peace Village,
click here. Peace Village is operated by the Brahma Kumaris World
Spiritual Organization. (www.bkwsu.org)
Registration
To register for the Dialogue and Retreat,
please click here and complete the form or call Peace Village at (518)
589-5000. Spouses and partners are welcome to attend. Please e-mail
Linda Krentzman at linda@peace-village.org with any questions you may
have about the retreat.
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The
Shambhala Institute in Ontario: Authentic Leadership in
Action
May 4-7, 2008
Trent University in Peterborough,
Ontario, Canada
After much anticipation, The
Shambhala Institute in Ontario is excited to announce the launch of a
regional Authentic Leadership in Action program, based on the same model
as the annual Summer Institute in Halifax. This inaugural program will
take place May 4-7, 2008, at Trent University in Peterborough,
Ontario.
Planned in collaboration with a core
group of Ontario-based program alumni and drawing on seven years of
success in Halifax, this three-day intensive features five high-quality
modules. The program encompasses plenary sessions, creative process,
meditation, reflective dialogue, and opportunities for networking and
celebration.
Module leaders and presenters
include Barbara Bash, Arawana Hayashi, Michael Jones, Art Kleiner, Toke
Moeller, C. Otto Scharmer, Peter Senge, Karen Stephenson, Bob Wing, and
Brenda Zimmerman.
Our intention in taking
this step is to provide a meeting-place for people and ideas at the
frontier of organizational and social innovation. We aspire to be a
resource for networks of leaders in Ontario who are catalysts for the
kind of impact needed to move the region's organizations and communities
toward a vital and sustainable future.
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Authentic Leadership in Action Summer Institute
2008
June 22-28, 2008
Mount Saint Vincent
University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Each June, the Authentic Leadership Summer Institute
brings together people and practices at the leading edge of
organizational and social innovation to gain the practical skills and
understanding needed to be more effective in the midst of high
complexity, high pressure, and high stakes. Your guides will be
internationally recognized and respected leaders working at the edge of
emerging new fields.
This five-day institute
will take you on an integrated journey of deep learning and lasting
impact. You will leave with new insights and awareness, strategic
relationships, and the tools and practices needed to shift yourself and
your organization into more robust levels of integration, collaboration,
and performance.
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Systems Dynamics Society 2008
Conference
July 20- 24, 2008
Athens, Greece
The 2008 conference will be staged in the cradle
of Western civilization. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world
and the birthplace of Socrates -- who some say was one of the first
systems thinkers!
The conference program
highlights invited and contributed sessions and workshops demonstrating
the state of the art in the theory and application of system
dynamics.
In addition, panel discussions,
special interest group sessions, student colloquia, the modeling
assistance workshop, vendor displays, exhibits, demonstrations, Society
business meetings, and other related activities will be included. The
conference location and schedule will provide time for relaxed social
and professional interaction.
The conference
brings together diverse perspectives on the application of system
dynamics to important issues in the theory of complex dynamic systems
and the practical use of these tools to address critical real-world
challenges.
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2008 Annual
Meeting of the Academy of Management: The Questions We
Ask
August 8-13, 2008
Anaheim, CA, United States
The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Academy of
Management will held August 8-13, 2008 in Anaheim, California. The
meeting theme, The Questions We Ask, will explore what we do not know
about the world of organization and management and what questions we
might dare to ask. Let's take stock of our questions. After all, our
answers can only be as good as our questions.
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SoL
Community News
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Addition: Call for Proposals: 2008 Annual Pegasus Conference: Synergy
in Action: Gathering Momentum for Meaningful Performance - Submission Deadline is February 8th
February 8 is the deadline for concurrent session proposals for the
2008 Pegasus Conference, which will be held November 17-19, 2008 in
Boston, Massachusetts. With the help of keynote presenters Betty Sue
Flowers, Adam Kahane, Sara Lawrence- Lightfoot, and Peter Senge,
Pegasus will work to create an exceptional learning and networking
experience focused on the theme: Synergy at Work: Gathering Momentum
for Meaningful Performance. We invite you to propose a session that will
help conference participants leverage systems thinking and the
disciplines of organizational learning to reach across differences, at
work and in the public arena, to achieve shared purpose that transcends
individual intention. Proposals must be submitted by February 8. Click here for submission guidelines.
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Addition: Research Update: Companies that Mimic Life Produce Outstanding Financial Performance
The Global LAMP Index® - comprised of companies that mimic
living systems in the ways they are organized and managed - had another
outstanding year in 2007. This learning lab, which provided the data for
Jay Bragdon's book, Profit for Life, validates SoL's belief that
such corporate cultures nurture extraordinary learning and adaptation.
Northfield Information Services, which verified these LAMP results, says
they are both economically and statistically significant.
Global LAMP Index® Performance Average Annual Returns for periods ending 12/31/07
|
|
Global LAMP Index® |
Standard & Poor's Indices |
|
Period
|
Equal Wt. |
Market Wt. |
S&P 500 |
Global 100 |
| 1 Year |
9.63 |
12.17 |
5.49 |
8.41 |
| 3 Years |
14.33 |
12.25 |
8.72 |
11.42 |
| 5 Years |
20.62 |
16.45 |
13.15 |
15.07 |
| 10 Years |
17.14 |
12.01 |
7.23 |
8.39 |
| Sources: Northfield Information Services
(www.northinfo,com) for LAMP results, and Standard & Poor's for
comparator results. LAMP returns are shown on both an equal-weighted
basis and on a market capitalization-weighted basis. There has been only
one change in LAMP's composition during this period - due to a corporate
takeover. There can be no assurance that returns shown on this table
will continue.
|
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SoL consultant member Anika Savage
is the new president of the Boston Chapter of the Association for
Strategic Planning
The international Association's 600
members share a fascination with the art and science of thinking
strategically about virtually any topic. Anika's links to ASP go back to
the 1990s when she was president of the Boston chapter of the
Association's predecessor organization, the Strategic Leadership Forum,
which hosted a number of well-attended events in New England, including
forums led by Peter Schwartz, Charles Perottet, and Meg Wheatley. Her
chapters in "Learning from the Future" and in periodicals, such as
"Strategy and Leadership," established Anika's international reputation
as a futurist with a particular emphasis on the integration of scenario
analysis and systems thinking. In addition to her work as a consultant,
Anika has led the strategic planning functions of Fortune 50
corporations in both the technology and financial services sectors.
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Call For Papers:
Special Issue on "Flexible Learning Organisations"
International Journal of Learning and Change (IJLC)
Guest Editor:
Anders Örtenblad, Halmstad University, Sweden
100-word abstract to
anders.ortenblad@set.hh.se by 1 February 2008
Submission details are
available at:
www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=790
Many scholars agree that the concept of the learning
organisation is not precise. Each organisation is unique, and
organisations should be given the adequate flexibility to develop their
own and relevant conditions leading to an effective learning
organisation. Some of these issues have been discussed in recent
literature on organisational and individual learning. During the process
of becoming an effective learning organisation, organisations must be
given space and time for creative action and synthesis of their own
customised versions of a learning organisation. However, this effort may
also generate tension and provide even more uncertainty and ambiguity,
which may prevent implementation. For the idea of learning organisation
to be meaningful, it must have practical relevance and value. How
relevant is the concept of an effective learning organisation for
business growth and development?
This special
journal issue aims to draw on theory and practice of learning
organisations and the process of adaptation of learning in a varied
organisational context. We address how the idea of the learning
organisation should be adapted to various internal and external
circumstances, contexts, and situations. We welcome all papers on
flexible learning organisations, theoretical and empirical, using
qualitative and quantitative methods. Submission details are available
at:
www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=790
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Questions for the
Possibilities
A SoL Consultant Member Publication
Last May, SoL Consultant member Karen Proctor's
published "Questions for the Possibilities." The book arose from Karen's
work with her clients in dialogue and real learning. These questions
stimulate the thinking we most often do not take the time to do: the
thinking that would bring these questions about. New thinking that comes
from reflection on these questions offers us an opportunity to move from
adapting to a future to creating our desired future. Clients have found
these questions valuable for clarity and moving forward in life
authentically. Considering these questions reveals us for who we are and
can be. Reading this book is an
exhilarating and rewarding spiritual exercise. The story of the first
bicycle is just one example of a marvelous, emotional insight, in this
case, into real parental love. 'He [Karen's father] had given me the
love that looks beyond today, the love that speaks again to us across
time.' Enough said.
- Charles H. Vejvoda, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw
Pittman LLP, New York
The "Questions" Karen
Proctor poses not only make one pause and reflect on situations in life,
they encourage the reader to take action to change, rebalance, and
refocus for the future, which is an essential process for any executive,
parent, partner, or friend to undertake in order to get the most from
life.
- David Wood, CFO, a biotech company, Princeton, New
Jersey .........................................................
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LOPN, Learning
Organisation Practitioners' Network, Singapore
LOPN is a growing network of
organisational learning practitioners in Singapore. Modeled on SoL, this
voluntary effort began in September 2002 and is composed of
practitioners from public, private, and non-profit sectors. The network
provides practitioners the opportunity to share experiences and best
practices, helping each other deepen their learning.
Discover more about LOPN at: www.lopn.net or contact Local SoL
Community Member Sheila Damodaran at Sheila_DAMODARAN@spf.gov.sg.
The LOPN newsletter, which includes a listing of upcoming events,
is updated every month and available at www.lopn.net/
NewsFlash.html
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Leanness Web Site
Features "Corporate Culture and Profitability in America"
Visit this Web site for resources and highlights from the William J.
O'Brien Distinguished Lecture Series at the College of Holy Cross in
Worcester, MA. Explore articles, interviews, short video clips, and
related links to learn more about corporate leaders who emphasize
worker development as a critical factor for their business
success.
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The Elements of
Persuasion nominated as a best business book for
2007
Robert Dickman and Richard Maxwell's book The
Elements of Persuasion and blog of the same name focus on
communication styles and 'storytellling' across several fields. The book
provides guiding principles. The blog is an up-to-date running
commentary on all things persuasive -- from the Iowa caucuses to the
television writers' strike and beyond.
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Job Opening at
The Garrison Institute: Director, Transformational Ecology Program
Initiative
Founded in 2003, the Garrison Institute, based
in Garrison, NY, applies the transformative power of comtemplative
methods to solve pervasive social and environmental challenges in order
to create a more compassionate and resilient world. For a position description and more information on how to
apply, contact:
Daniel Sherman, President
Explore Company
www.explorecompany.com
202 . 333 . 3473
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MOPAN
International Conference, June 25-27, 2008
Suffolk
University and the Center for Innovation and Change Leadership invite
you to attend the 15th Annual Multi-Organizational Partnerships,
Alliances and Networks (MOPAN) International Conference to be held at
the Sawyer Business School in Boston, Massachusetts USA. This year's
theme, Collaborative Innovation and Change, offers an
opportunity to meet and discuss relevant issues with international
scholars and professionals. Keynote speaker Lee Green is IBM's Vice
President of Brand and Values Experience. Check
the Conference Web site for more information, or contact
the Co-Directors:
Robert DeFillippi (rdefilli@suffolk.edu)
Colette Dumas (cdumas@suffolk.edu) Center for
Innovation & Change Leadership
Sawyer Business School
Suffolk University
8 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108-2770
USA .........................................................
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Authentic
Leadership Institute: True North Leadership Program and True North
Personal Guide available Spring 2008
Join True
North author Bill George and the Authentic Leadership Institute for
the workshop True North: Discovering Your Authentic Leadership,
March 10-12, 2008, at the Norton's Woods Conference Center in Cambridge,
Massachusetts USA. Learn more about the Authentic Leadership Institute
and register online for the workshop. A PDF of the
workshop brochure is available for downloading on the site. Fundamental messages from True North:
--
You can discover your authentic leadership right now.
-- You do not
have to be born with the characteristics or traits of a leader.
--
You do not have to wait for a tap on your shoulder.
-- You do not
have to be at the top of your organization.
-- You can step up to
lead at any point in your life: you're never too young -- or too old.
-- Leadership is your choice, not your title. Co-written by Bill George, Andrew McLean, and Nick Craig,
the True North Personal Guide will be available in the Spring
of 2008. Using the HBR research documented in True North, the
Guide provides detailed exercises designed to allow one to
access their authenticity as a leader. Contact the
Authentic Leadership Institute at 978-772-4827 or by email at
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In2:InThinking
Network 2008 Forum
The seventh annual forum,
Transforming MySpace In2 OurSpace: Developing Our Uncommon
Knowledge, will be held in Los Angeles, CA USA, beginning
Wednesday, April 16, 2008, and wrapping up with post-conference seminars
April 21-22, 2008. Meet with thought leaders and fellow InThinkers to
explore thinking transformations. Check the Web
site for additional information or send email to info@in2in.org.
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Joe Raelin, SoL
Research Member, article download available
The journal
Academy of Management Learning and Education has published Joe
Raelin's article "Toward an Epistemology of Practice," which can be
downloaded from the Center for Work and Learning. The article is
Raelin's attempt to "construct a statement that develops an epistemology
solely based on a practice view of the world rather than the more
familiar classroom paradigm." .........................................................
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Thank you for reading the SoL
Flash!
Send your updates, comments, or questions to flash@solonline.org.
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